French Alphabet, Spelling Names & Words

lesfritesfolles
Oct 30
2 min read

Bonjour et bienvenue!

If you're just starting your journey into learning French, mastering the alphabet is the perfect first step. While the French alphabet uses the same 26 letters as English, many of them are pronounced quite differently. Let’s go through each letter from A to Z, with a simple pronunciation guide to help you sound more like a native speaker.

Tip: Try repeating each letter out loud as you go — it’ll help train your ear and tongue!

French Alphabet Pronunciation (A–Z)

A — ah

B — bay

C — say

D — day

E — uh

F — eff

G — zhay

H — ahsh

I — ee

J — zhee

K — kah

L — ell

M — emm

N — enn

O — oh

P — pay

Q — koo

R — air (guttural)

S — ess

T — tay

U — oo (tight lips)

V — vay

W — doo-bluh-vay

X — eeks

Y — ee-grek

Z — zed

Some letters in French are pronounced quite differently from English. For example:

G → zhay
J → zhee
H → ash
U → oo (with rounded lips)
R → pronounced from the back of the throat

Learning the correct sounds for each letter is essential, especially when spelling names or asking how a word is written. Practice saying each letter out loud and repeat them regularly to build muscle memory.

Spelling Names in French

Once you know the alphabet, you can begin spelling names using the French letter sounds.

For example:

Kanishka = K – A – N – I – S – H – K – A In French sounds: Kah – Ah – Enn – Ee – Ess – Ash – Kah – Ah

This is a great exercise to reinforce your pronunciation and get comfortable with French phonetics. Try spelling your own name out loud!

Spelling Common French Words

Such as:

Chat (cat) → C – H – A – T → Say – Ash – Ah – Tay (but the T is silent, so it sounds like Sha)
École (school) → E – C – O – L – E → Uh – Say – Oh – Ell – Uh
Maison (house) → M – A – I – S – O – N → Emm – Ah – Ee – Ess – Oh – Enn

TIP: Spelling words helps you link sounds to letters and recognize common pronunciation patterns.

Here are 3 quick hacks to help with tricky French sounds:

1. The French ‘R’

It’s guttural—made at the back of the throat, like a soft gargle. Try it in words like: merci, Paris, français.

2. Silent Letters

Many French words have silent endings. Example: chat → the 'T' is not pronounced.

3. Nasal Vowels

French has nasal sounds where air escapes through the nose. Words like pain (bread), vin (wine), and un (one) don’t pronounce the final “n” fully—just a nasal tone.

À bientôt in Episode 4! Keep practicing.